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Thomas Kickham
Thomas Kickham was a Liberal MLA, merchant, lobstery cannery factory owner, shipbuilder, and was the Post Master of Souris West for 16 yearsTownshend, Adele. Ten Farms Become a Town. ''Town of Souris. 1986. Print.Kickham, Thomas. ''Prince Edward Island Museum and Heritage Foundation collection; Mitchell collection. PARO PEI. Web. 6 January 2018.. Political Life Kickham served in the Legislative Council from 1886 until the Council was abolished and replaced by the Legislative Assembly. Members of the Legislative Council were not elected, but were instead named to the position by the Premier. Kickham was an ardent Liberal supporter and he made two attempts to enter the Legislative Assembly by running for the Liberal party, first in 1893 in Third King's and again in 1904 in First King's. From available records, it appears that neither of these two runs were successful. Shipyard Kickham was the owner of a shipyard in Rollo Bay West, which was best known for the construction of twelve, two or three mast schooners which were built between 1891 and 1907. It is further noted that James Keefe did use the Kickham shipyard to build the two-masted, 99 ton vessel, the Nutwood for Matthew, McLean & Co. in 1888. During this time, William Chaisson was master builder in the shipyard. One unique feature of Kickham's shipyard was that the ships built in this shipyard all had names ending in the word "light". Some of these ships included the Minot's Light, ''which was named for the lighthouse outside Boston Harbour. Another, the ''Arclight, was a three masted schooner weighing 103 tons which sank off New York Harbour in 1912. The Searchlight was lost in the Bay of Fundy in World War Two. The first Delight, a schooner of 109 tons built in 1894, was wrecked on a trip from Newfoundland to the Barbados. The Ariel Light of 79 tons was built in 1887. In 1905 the Silverlight was sawed out of the ice in May to make an emergency trip to Pictou for a load of hay. 1905 was known as the year of Government hay because of the hay famine. Several other schooners were built here, although they have little no recorded history: Twilight, Sunlight, Souris Light, Satelite, and the second Delight. The last of these schooners to be built was the Limelight built in 1907, which weighed 126 tons. It is known that the launching of a ship was always a momentous occasion, and an account of launching of the Limelight has been passed down thus: "Eddie Donald McCormack was the fiddler at the party at Tom Warner's. He kept on bravely making music while many strong men slumped to the floor but finally the fiddle dropped from his hand though the bow kept sawing the air but not for long, as Eddie too was thoroughly relaxed on the floor. Next morning Eddie Donald came down to the yard and went aboard the Limelight to bore the pumps. He bored and bored and finally bored into the river. Someone had made a mistake. Joe Kennedy, who was working in the hold shouted, "The ship is sinking. The ship is sinking!" Eddie Donald plugged the hole with his fist and with other stuff saying bitterly, "If I could take my hand out of here, I would knock your head off." William Chaisson, the builder, looked calmly but sadly on". Billie Peters, of Cambridge Massachusetts, was on the Limelight ''on the day of its launch as an 11 year old boy. The Limelight was lost between Canso and Halifax and became beached at Wine Harbour, Nova Scotia in the fall of 1914. Later in the war it was remodeled, renamed the Riseover II and sold to Venezuela in 1921. Other workers in Kickham's shipyard were George Rice, second in command, Archie MacPhee, Eddie Donald McCormack, Simon Ronald MacDonald, William Coffin, Tom Warner, Hughie Wilt and Joseph Kennedy. By 1889 shipbuilding was a dying industry on the Island. The plentiful forests which offered timber suitable for building masts and hulls had at last been exhausted, and, iron hulled ships were becoming much more feasible. From 1864-1867 the shipbuilding industry on the Island was valued at more than $2 million, however by 1889 the Kickham shipyard was the last one on the Island (''this fact, found in Townshend on page 91, is unclear as to whether it references the last shipyard on the Island, or on Souris river). Lobster Cannery Kickham owned a lobster cannery which was also located in Souris West. Gallery Thomas Kickhams Store.JPG|The tall man on the steps - bookkeeper, Jimmy "Paddy" Mclnnis, T.K. Kickham is the man with the hat and grey beard. Four of the ladies are identified as Maggie Kickham, Maggie Mullally, Gertie Hayes and Dolly Lord - all employees of T.K. Kickham. Thomas Kickham Family.JPG|L-R: Lottie McWade (Mrs. Alex Campbell), Thomas K. Kickham, Isabel McWade (Mrs. Charles MacKinnon), standing, William Wade Hughes (child in front), Mrs. T.K. Kickham (formerly Mrs. McWade), James J. Hughes, Mrs. James J. Hughes (formerly Annie McWade), Lottie Hughes (in her mother's arms). Thomas Kickham Arclight Ship.JPG|The Arclight was built in Souris West in 1898 and registered the same year. Her tonnage was 102.65 with a 91 foot keel. The vessel was 27.5 feet wide amidships and the depth of her hold 8.8 feet. T.K. Kickham owned her until 1911 when it was sold to George Toombs of Charlottetown and Alex MacDonald of Mount Stewart. The ship was lost in New York Harbour, U.S.A., on July 12, 1912. Thomas Kickham Delight Ship.JPG|The second schooner named Delight was built at Souris West in 1894. This ship in the right of the photo had a registered tonnage of 109.4 with a keel of 85 feet. The width amidship was 23.9 feet and the depth of the hold 9.2 feet. It was registered June 26, 1894, and sailed under Master Alexander Bushey. It was abandoned at sea in mid- Atlantic February 11, 1899. References